BookBrowse Reviews The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb

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Wally Lamb explores addiction, recovery, and redemption after a father's tragic mistake.

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Wally Lamb's novel The River Is Waiting tells the story of Corby Ledbetter, a young, unemployed commercial artist and the father of two-year-old twins. Although Corby is a loving stay-at-home father, he's also an addict, popping an Ativan or two with a rum chaser before the kids are even awake most mornings. A few times a week he tells his wife, Emily, a third grade teacher, that he'll take the children to their grandmother's house for the day so he can concentrate on his job search (when what he's really planning to do is spend the day drinking). On one of these mornings, Corby is distracted as he's loading the car and forgets that he's only buckled in one of the twins. His son, Niko, is killed when the car backs over him in the driveway, and Corby is sent to prison for three years on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. The bulk of the novel describes Corby's life in prison and his desire for redemption.

The first third is devastating and may be hard for some to read. A child's death, particularly when caused by such carelessness, is unfathomable to many of us, and Lamb pulls no punches as he writes about this tragedy. Emily's grief is profound, and readers suffer right along with her. What makes this section even more difficult, though, is the protagonist. Corby's a blatantly unreliable narrator, repeatedly telling us that he could "still function fine" that morning in spite of the substances he'd consumed, that the DUI he'd had previously was just a one-off situational mistake, that the detective investigating the case is "clearly out to get me…[and] can make those blood test results say whatever they want them to," etc. His attitude starts to evolve as he participates in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings (see Beyond the Book)—so much so that he confesses to the police that he was impaired that morning and is willing to face jail time because of it.

The rest of the book is Corby's narration about his time behind bars. Lamb's descriptions are vivid, and we're drawn into the young man's story—how he spends his days, the challenges he encounters, and the people he meets. The author doesn't break any new ground here; the people and situations are standard fare in prison literature (the uncaring warden, the sadistic guards, the bad food, the lack of privacy). Nevertheless, it's an engaging story that held my attention well. Several chapters center around Corby's relationship with an emotionally disturbed teenage inmate whom he reluctantly takes under his wing, and these sections are particularly well done. Corby shows a maturity here as he helps the boy adapt, ultimately finding a way to protect him even as doing so invites retribution from the guards.

Indeed, it is no doubt Corby's complexity that put the book on so many "best of the year" lists. His path to redemption isn't straightforward—he sometimes takes a step backwards as he strives to become someone worthy of his wife and surviving child. It's a realistic portrayal of the addiction and recovery process (and as a recovering alcoholic himself, Lamb understands the challenges someone in Corby's shoes might face). The protagonist remains an unreliable narrator throughout, however. What he says to his audience about his remorse, for example, is somewhat belied by the conversations he has with Emily, which come across as selfish and lacking understanding of how his actions have impacted her. He claims to have changed, but one is still left wondering who he'll be once he leaves prison.

A book's ending can make or break the reading experience, and in this case it almost achieved the latter for me. I can't go into details without inserting a major plot spoiler, but the final chapter of The River Is Waiting felt like a cheat. Corby's narrative arc doesn't remain unresolved exactly, but he also doesn't achieve the salvation one expects from this type of book.

That said, it's an interesting, well-written novel, and I do recommend it for its portrayal of grief and addiction (two subjects the author totally nails). I enjoyed all but the last few pages, and I know Corby will remain in my mind for many days to come—the mark of a superbly drawn character. It should spark lively book club discussion, particularly around the topics of addiction, its consequences, and the possibilities for redemption after a catastrophic mistake.

This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in December 2025, and has been updated for the June 2026 edition. Click here to go to this issue.